Wild Food Dood--Eating African Boxthorn Berries

Me giving a tutorial on ripe African Boxthorn--Lycium ferocissimum--berries as wild food. I read a little from AB & JW Cribb's "Wild Food in Australia" and, also, from Tim Low's "Wild Herbs of Australia & New Zealand". Also a short safari into the nearby countryside to examine the African Boxthorn shrubs and their berries. These berries are edible and free, but very similar to the $uper-expen$ive Goji berries popular nowadays.

Here is the link to Wikipedia on Goji Berries and safety issues:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfberry#Safety_issues

Read about African Boxthorn--Lycium ferocissimum--here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycium_ferocissimum

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Lycium
• ferocissimum
• barbarum
• australe
• Solanaceae
• narcotic
• Goji
• berry
• berries
• toxicity
• edible
• foraging
• poison
• food
• birds
• Australia
• prunes
• weeds
• noxious
• bush tucker
• aborigines
• nicotine
• Grantiella picta
• Painted Honeyeater
• parrot
• weedicide
• solanine
• laxative
• aperient
• tamarillo
• tomato
• tree
• constipation
• nightshade

[AnimalsRightToDance]

hello again. go to the website of plants for a future and type in search "Lycium chinense".

you will find interesting info

[zuditaka]

@AnimalsRightToDance Thanks for that useful information. There are quite a few different types of boxthorn, so we should have as much information as we can. Thanks again!

[AnimalsRightToDance]

thanks for the info. i tasted 3-4 one day and 2-3 another day. i liked the taste and decided to plant many plants in a land i bought recently. i thought i could use them raw in salads. it seems that there isnt much certain information about this plant but the fact that people are not used to eating them maybe tells something! i dont know i i should take them out

[zuditaka]

@AnimalsRightToDance Hi! I've done a couple of videos on these berries. As you say, there isn't that much information about them, it would seem. They are definitely related to Goji berries and Wolfberries. Like tomatoes and potatoes etc, they are not to be eaten green. Check out Wiki on Goji berry toxicity issues. One Goji berry website I saw, online, claimed African Boxthorn Berries are sometimes substituted for Goji berries by retailers. But I wouldn't know how true that was. Research, anyway!

[zuditaka]

@kohvna Goji berries and chili peppers are in the same Solanaceae family. Chinese food supply shops sell Goji and Lyci berries, dried, and in special "medicine diet" packages, so they are said to be beneficial for health and well being. Very expen$ive to buy, though. Nurseries sell the plants, nowadays, so maybe pot up a few bushes. Just don't eat the berries green--as, like green potatoes or tomatoes, they can be toxic that way. Good health to you. ♥

[kohvna]

@zuditaka I might try eating them then, they also said chili peppers have atropine too but I wasnt able to find the amount of atropine... and I eat chili peppers. Like goji berries a type of berry called acai has a lot of anti-oxidants. I am very cautious about new foods because I am allergic to some things. Marijuana for instance gives me cardiac arrhythmias so I cant smoke that. Caffeine also does not sit well with me. I may give goji berries a try though. Thanks for your input.

[zuditaka]

@kohvna Goji berries have been eaten for thousands of years in Asia.They are called names like "long life berry" etc, there,because of their beneficial effects.I think they are also sold as "Lycii" berries.Goji berries and Lycii berries are very close relatives from Asia.I think they do contain small amounts of atropine,but it's supposed to be below the likely toxic amount.Wikipedia has some short notes on toxicological issues with Goji. So many people eat Gojis, nowadays,and they aren't dead!!!

[kohvna]

Thanks for sharing your info, what do you think of Goji berries? Are they safe?

[zuditaka]

@OneManARSNL I was just thinking aloud! Lol. ♥

[OneManARSNL]

@zuditaka No, I dont recall saying that either.